Die Uhr läuft ab

In a Scandinavian country, -name given to the three countries of Norway, Denmark and Sweden- , there a national security chief Colonel called Tahlvik (Sean Connery) is tasked to rescue the passengers of a high-jacked British airliner , only to discover that all is not what it seems . The gang of hijackers is led by Ray Petrie (Ian McShane) who seize the British plane as it is landing in Scandinavia . Meanwhile , the British Ambassador is being held hostage at his Embassy by another terrorist team. Skyjack , kidnap : A time-bomb of suspense has started ticking. Two nations are being held for ransom and... Sean Connery is the agent who takes on The Terrorists . Connery Won't Pay Ransom .Hijackers. Kidnappers. Killers. Only one man can stop them.

The action is set in Scandinavia and it concerns two terrorist events : the hijack of a passenger plane on the tarmac of a nearby airport and the kidnap of the British Ambassador whose Embassy residence has been seized by a second group of terrorists . A simple and modest thriller in the same mould as ¨The Intercine Project¨ by Ken Hughes and others at the time , which seems similarly intent on dealing with issues of contemporary relevance as grisly ¨Terrorism¨ during the violent 70s ; however all roles and events in this film are fictitious and any similarity to actual events or persons living or dead is purely coincidental . Generic title betrays its poor as well as sloppy execution . Some stock roles and formula dialogue don't help either . It turns into a straightforward , pretty enjoyable , but slow-moving and complex thriller . It results in a twisted kidnapping movie , being a decent story but middlingly adapted , if somewhat implausible terrorism tale . The movie gains in weight thanks to its typical implications and plot twists . All in all , a neat and unpretentious intrigue movie that offers more food for thought than most such unshamedly commercial movies . Although director Wrede and his cameraman Sven Nykvist are more than compelling , the film nevertheless has a distinct air of triviality due mainly to the made-for-TV ethos that seems to surround the whole production . Sean Connery gives an a decent acting as tough , law and order , Military Police Chief Colonel Tahlvik assigned to rescue the plane and its passengers but he must also deal with several problems . Just like he was a Scottish Lithuanian subcommander in ¨The hunt for Red October¨ (1990) , here Sean is a Scottish Norwegian Securirity Chief . He is very well accompanied by Ian McShane , a veteran actor still working . And a good but unknown support cast , such as : Isabel Dean , John Quentin , Robert Harris , James Maxwell , John Cording, Christopher Ellison , and other Norwegian local actors dubbed with familiar sounding British voice-over players credited at the closing credits , among others.

Good photography by Sven Nykvist , Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman's ordinary cameraman , being shot on location in Norway , and breathtaking musical score by Jerry Goldsmith are wasted . The motion picture was professional but regularly directed by Caspar Wrede . He was a director , writer , and producer, usually for TV , known for One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich , The Barber of Stamford Hill , The New Inferno , No No ,No ¡ , Private Potter (1962), ITV Play of the Week (1955) and BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) . Wrede was married to actress Dilys Hamlett and he had short but prestigious career . Rating : 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable .

Strong performances by leads Sean Connery and Ian Mc Shane, backed good action segments, pacing and fine winter locations. Poor editing in some spots causes the film to seem a bit stiff as does some inferior dubbing. Nice twists. Connery's always a pleasure to watch, and Mc Shane's bad guy provides an interesting touch as the head terrorist.

This film came out just two years after "Skyjacked," the first movie made about skyjacking. Most hijacking of airplanes before this were for one of two reasons – to extort money from the airlines, or to flee somewhere for political asylum. "The Terrorists" is the first movie made about organized terrorists taking over a plane. And it surely wasn't the last.

What is very good about this film is that it shows how security personnel handle the situation. It's new to all the characters in this film. Sean Connery plays the head of Scandinavian security, Co. Nils Tahlvik. While the movie uses the general term Scandinavian for the region, the event takes place in Norway, most likely Oslo. All the actors play their roles very well. The plot is complicated, and the script and direction handle it very well, so the audience is never lost about what is taking place.

The scenery and aerial photography are excellent. The flight into Russia with the buzzing and then escort by the Soviet-looking jets is most impressive. Even though the details are clear to the audience, the story has wonderful suspense as we see Tahlvik and the other characters go through their actions to meet deadlines. Connery's character also exclaims that to surrender to terrorists is to open to door to more and more terrorism. His purpose is to try to thwart the terrorists.

This is a nice film, filled with drama and suspense. There isn't a lot of action until the end. But, it is a good look at how government and security forces try to deal with terrorists and skyjackings.

"The Terrorists" has one subtle "message" of sorts. It takes a cynical stab at British government that will not arrest some criminals because they can be of use to them. The message is, that because they do that, it comes back to hurt innocent people. Connery's character insists that the law be followed, or anarchy will rule.

Sean Connery plays Scandanavian military police chief Nils Tahlvik, assigned to deal with a high jacked British plane that has landed at their airport. The terrorists make various demands that Tahlvik must meet if he wants to save the plane filled with passengers...

Undistinguished yarn has little going for it other than Sean Connery's commanding performance, and a surprise twist at the end that perhaps doesn't bear close scrutiny.... Regardless, though not at all bad, it contains little to make it memorable.

With all respect to Mr. Connery, were films like this and "Zardoz" worth giving up playing James Bond?

This film is also called The ransom, not to be confused with the mild action film with Mel Gibson.

The film set in the Scandinavian country (called Scandinavia in the movie, while it is shot in Norway), the snow atmosphere and the heavily dressed characters somehow dictated the slowness of the pace in the movie. Nevertheless, it's exciting. The whole look is not your conventional Hollywood actioner, while at the same time deserves the same class as that of the late sixties/early seventies crime/caper movies like Bullit, French Connection, Taking Pelham One, Two and Three and Dirty Harry.

Connery is fun to watch. He really adds to the atmosphere of the movie and the relatively tame climax looks good with his presence. Good movie. 7/10